Day 1: Home to Hot Springs National Park
After a LONG drive from my home to HSNP (Hot Springs National Park), I finally arrived at my KOA where I was staying for the night. It was a fabulous campground and I had a great shaded campsite (YAY!). ALSO, DID YOU KNOW THERE IS WIFI AT A KOA KAMPGROUND!? I did not, and it was a pleasant surprise.
By the time I had my campsite set up and had a shower, I only had a few hours of daylight (and energy) to explore HSNP and grab something to eat. Traffic was horrible (I mean, it was Memorial Day weekend, I should have known better) and I finally made it to the free parking garage in town. After eating, I walked around for a little while and saw some of the Hot Springs. I also put my hand in one of the springs and YEP they are hot!
After seeing about all there is to see, and let me be honest, there isn’t much; I drove on the Mountain Drive/Fountain Drive in the park. At the top, there is a tower where you can take an elevator to the top for viewing, but I decided I would skip that part since it was about to close. However, there were some gorgeous views from a couple of pull offs that showed Arkansas’ beauty.
Overall, HSNP was nice and pretty in places. I definitely could see how amazing it was years ago, but a lot of the older, architecturally beautiful buildings are boarded up and forgotten. If Chip and Joanna Gaines could get a big ole crew into that area, MAN, it would be GORGEOUS.
Day 2: Drive to Austin
Okay, you guys, I KNEW Texas was big. I know it is the 2nd largest state and is basically (kind of, sort of) the size of Europe if you pushed them all together. But holy moly, Texas is HUGE. Also, people drive CRAZY, and I am a crazy driver so that is saying a lot. Maybe it was the 75 mph limit or the weird on/off ramps Texas has between Dallas and Austin, but I have never been so nervous driving on an interstate before in my life.
Anyway, I finally made it to my “Uncle” John’s house (He is one of my father’s best friends, so I have always called him uncle) in Austin after a long day of driving. I showered and John and his wife took me out to dinner. After that, we talked about places we have traveled, and then this old 29 year old went to bed around 9:30 to prepare for the drive to Big Bend National Park.
So, not exactly an enthralling couple of days, but the weather has been nice and I have enjoyed what all I have seen so far on my trip! Only 39 days left of my road trip, stay tuned!
Peace!
See Van Go 